Naty Shred

There are art boards galore, but these hand carved whimsical creatures are meant to be ridden. Ridden carefully, of course, but ridden. Doug McKee AKA Naty Shred rides his, and repairs them too. They aren’t cheap, but they are one of a kind. The bird actually flaps it’s wings when it rolls. Impractical? Sure, but it takes a joyless soul not to smile at these.

[Source: Make] – Thanks to Eric Cherry and Janis Salnajs for the tip.

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The Skateboarder’s Journal

Jack Smith has self-published “The Skateboarder’s Journal – Lives on Board 1949-2009.” It sounds a little bit like an extended version of Jocko Weyland’s The Answer is Never.

I decided to open up the book up to anyone who wanted to contribute a story about his or her skateboarding life. Not just the pros or the skaters you have seen in the magazines and videos over the last fifty years, I wanted to share the “everyman/everywoman” stories of skateboarding. Everyone from the “40 something” pad dad, to the 15 year old grom who’s so stoked that he wants to skate every waking hour, to the women skaters who stories have been ignored or lost over the years.

The forward is written by Stacy Peralta, a guy who’s definitely had an interesting life in skateboarding. Head on over to the The Skateboarder’s Journal to check it out. It’s more than just press for the book, it’s a larger social network type site.

Haroshi Harvest

Skateboarding is a big deal in Japan and like most skateboarders in the world, Japanese artist Haroshi had a pile of broken decks lying around. Too attached to the boards to toss them in the trash, he collected his boards and unless he breaks a few boards a week the ones of his community and turned them into sculptures and accessories such as necklaces and key chains.

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Joe Farrell: Skate Board Park

Man, for a cat so heavily into jazz, you’d think he’d be hip to the lingo and not trip over such a simple thing like “skateboard park” instead of laying a clam like “Skate Board Park.” This album dates back to 1979. I don’t know jazz, but Joe Farrell must have been somewhat respected, because I do recognize the name of his keyboard and piano player, Chick Corea. I do know one thing, this album cover is outstanding, even if it wasn’t the record exec’s bag. The CD re-issue has a completely different cover. Dig some fly album artwork and hear Farrell blow on this hot plate after the jump, unless you’re out to lunch, like that crumb behind Joe on the cover.

– Thanks to Matt for the tip, and AllAboutJazz for the translation.

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